Digital marketing is constantly changing, and SEO is likely evolving faster than anything else. As an SEO recruitment agency, we see the pace of growth that occurs within the SEO space and the increasing demand for skilled SEO specialists.

Qualified SEO consultants are some of the most sought-out professionals in digital marketing and simply cannot afford to fall behind on necessary skills. If you are an SEO consultant, you will need to pay extra attention to a few search engine optimization aspects in particular to meet the expectations of SEO recruitment agencies in 2018.

The Skills Every SEO Recruitment Agency Is Looking for

Almost everyone uses a search engine to research products and services before making a purchase. That’s why it’s so crucial for businesses to optimize their websites for SEO.

As a recruitment firm with extensive experience in SEO talent acquisition, we’ve put together a list of four top qualities SEO consultants should have to stand out today.

Link Building isn’t Dead, but…

Although not all SEO consultants may agree on what kind of backlinks are valuable for success, backlinks very much affect sites’ rankings and aren’t expected to go anywhere.

Understanding the process of link building that is effective today remains a key factor in being an experienced SEO consultant – that is if you know how to approach it organically. It’s important to consider the types of links Google ranks as being high-quality, know how to audit and disavow low quality links, and strategize link building for domain authority. To maintain your in-demand status as an SEO consultant, make sure to stay on top of driving organic link building while avoiding methods that Google may even remotely consider as spammy under the latest quality requirements. Recognize link building as a long-term process and focus on creating content that generates true value.

A Bigger (and Better) Mobile-First World

We are continuously hearing about entering the mobile-first world, and it looks like it will finally happen in 2018 or early 2019. And SEO recruiters won’t hold back on placing SEO consultants that not only know how to optimize for mobile, but how to do it fast and in a cost-effective way.

Good to Know: Mobile-First SEO at SMX East 2017

Nearly 60 percent of searches come from mobile. Unsurprisingly, Google adopted a plan to cater to the searchers’ needs. This means that Google will analyze mobile version of websites first and rank by its performance before desktop, but many organizations are still working on the transition to responsive design and mobile speed optimization (along with usability optimization). Thus, the most in-demand SEO consultants and specialists will need to be able to navigate through the mobile optimization complexities better and faster than ever before. And if you add SEO optimization skills beyond desktop and mobile (aka for a variety of internet-connected devices that exist today), your value as an expert will be very high.

Time to Truly Embrace Video

Video content has been the most effective form of visual content for a while and is expected to make up 80 percent of all online traffic by 2021. With no surprise, YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine behind Google.

People love video and visually engaging experiences, and as more brands start embracing the necessity to produce video content, they will give preference to SEO consultants that are experienced in video optimization.

Top candidates in SEO recruitment in 2018 should understand and be comfortable with creating video content that’s optimized for SEO and beyond. Although it’s nothing new, many marketers aren’t equipped to create video content. SEO recruitment agencies are always looking for SEO consultants with skills and experience to create optimized video content (and more).

Re-visit the Voice Search

The trend of voice search is rapidly rising. SEO recruitment in 2018 is going to look for SEO specialists that can excel in voice search optimization like never before. Voice recognition tools like Siri and Google Now are an every day go-to tool for many searchers. In fact, ComScore reports that 50 percent of all search queries are predicted to be made via voice search by 2020. Top SEO consultants today know how to incorporate voice search keyword strategy and a natural language that matches typical conversational tones.

Conclusion

Naturally, this isn’t the full list of skills that are expected from well-rounded SEO consultants in the coming year. However, they should give you a glimpse into the foundational skills SEO recruitment agencies will be looking for in the nearest future.

The rapid developments in the digital space create an increasing demand for SEO experts that can keep up, adapt, and drive results. If you see there’s room for improvement in your skill set, don’t wait too long: the 2018 job market will be full of exciting and rewarding opportunities!

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